Home
by Swiftchanted
Summary: "This is absolutely hopeless! I'd have more luck if I swam to America!" She just wanted to go home. AU.


**New story! Maybe. I don't know. If it is, it'll be maybe five chapters at the most. This chapter must be played to Demi Lovato's For the Love of a Daughter instrumental on repeat. It's a must. Haha. This is obviously AU, so just deal with it, okay? I hope you enjoy the story! And review pretty please. It'd be nice.**

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><p><em>It was a promise she'd made to him before she'd left. She wouldn't wear those combat boots until the last day, and the very last day she'd slip them on her feet and wear them out of there, trucking back home. The two years had gone by painfully. Letters were written, sometimes phone calls were exchanged, but there was hardly ever time for that. Serving your country was time-consuming.<em>

_The guys had learned to respect her; she wasn't just any girl, she was a girl who was tougher than most of the men put together. She didn't take shit from anyone, and she fought like tomorrow might not even come. The generals would look at her and ask her why she never wore the pair of new and shiny combat boots lying at the bottom of her bag. She would always scowl at them and tell them to jack off somewhere else. And they left it at that._

_General Yamada couldn't wait until two years were over. She wanted to get home, back to Arizona where her friends and family were. But she had to put her wants aside as she woke up every day and picked up her gun. This was about the bigger picture. She had to put others in front of herself now. There was no more putting yourself first-it was always about keeping someone else safe. _

_The two years drew to a close with many, many close calls in General Yamada's case. The men took care of her since she was the only woman general, and probably the best general at that. They protected her like she was their secret weapon, when in reality she was. On the war front, the enemy tried shooting her down first, thinking she was just a useless pawn in the game. But she always surprised them right before they got a bullet to the heart. _

_Reading and responding to letters was probably the most painful thing she'd ever done during those two years. No matter how tough she might have been, the letters tugged on her heartstrings like a child tugged on her father's arm. Tears would run down her face each and every time, just reading what went on without her. It almost destroyed her at times, but she had to get up, put on a brave face, and stuff the letters in her pocket hoping that it wouldn't be the last time she'd trace over their handwritings wishing she was just back home. _

_The last day she was on deployment seemed to tick by so slow that seconds seemed like millennia. Packing up her things, saying goodbye to her brothers who still had their time to serve, everything ticked by too slow. There were just a mere five hours before the car would come for her and send her back home to Arizona where she belonged. She wondered how they'd all changed. If they had the same personalities, if they'd gone through any physical changes, it all enlightened her. The ride to the airport seemed to fly to her luck, and getting on the plane was no problem. She sat there, a happy smile on her face, tracing over the letters she'd received over the two years, smiling and just trying to picture everyone. She fell asleep on the plane, thinking of him and if he still loved her as much as he did two years ago._

. . .

"_What do you mean all flights to New York are canceled?"_

"_Miss I'm really sorry for the inconvenience-"_

"_I've been deployed for two damn years and all I want to do is get on a plane and see my friends and family, I don't want to sit in a terminal and wait for a flight to magically appear! I want to go home! I'll fly the damn plane myself if I have to!"_

"_Miss, I recommend you rent a hotel room for a few nights and just keep posted!"_

"_But what if I don't want to rent a hotel room for a few nights and keep posted? I want to go home; I thought I made that pretty clear the first fifteen times!"_

"_Miss there are other people-"_

"_**I doubt those other people have been fighting for their country for two damn years**__! I want to know when on Earth there's gonna be a flight to New York!"_

"_As soon as the planes get in-"_

"_This is absolutely hopeless! I'd have more luck if I swam to America!"_

Stella Yamada sat in a tiny café on the outside of London, sipping on a cup of coffee, staring at her phone that she had finally retrieved after she left her base. Just to her luck, her and all other flights to New York had been canceled for some unknown reason. So she was stuck here in London until there was a flight available. She had to find a place to stay, food to eat, because God knew how long she'd be stuck here across the pond. She only had a bit of money, enough to last her maybe two or three days. She didn't think that she'd be stuck that long, but the ridiculous lady at the airport had been no help, so there was no telling.

She sat in the chair, rubbing her feet which were clad by the combat boots together anxiously. The bell atop the door occasionally twinkled every time it opened or closed, and Stella didn't notice the girl standing in front of her, smirking. "You look like you're lost," the voice, with a heavy British accent noted.

Stella looked up to see a girl with piercing green eyes staring back at her, a smirk plastered on her face. She was wearing a pair of grey skinny jeans, a very short grey sweater dress and a black leather jacket, with a pair of black flats on her feet. Her almost white blonde hair was pin straight, with her long layered bangs swept out of her face with a simple bobby pin.

"What do you mean I look lost?" Stella retorted. The girl then sat down, crossing her legs and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, by your accent, I can tell that you're an American, and you stick out like a sore thumb. It's obvious you've never been to London." The girl was pretty blunt, and her British accent seemed to make things sound sharper than she meant them to be.

"I've been deployed for two years, and my flight got canceled. The stupid airlines lady never did tell me an exact date on when I'd catch a flight to New York, so I just came here for the time being. Do you always just walk up to lost looking strangers and strike up a conversation?"

"Not exactly, you just looked as though you could use a little company. Doesn't look like you've had much of that in your American army."

"I had plenty of company in the army, thank you very much."

"Well I know that, but it doesn't look as though you've had much female company. I know you Americans; a pretty big percentage of your army is male."

"What can I say; I'm one of the boys. Always have been, that's why I joined the army."

The girl just nodded slightly as Stella took a sip of her coffee. She began to rub her boots together again, not knowing why she was talking to this strange blonde girl. "Oh!" the girl jumped slightly, pasting a warm smile on her face. "Where are my manners? I'm Naomi, Naomi Reynolds." She held out her hand, and Stella warily took it.

"Stella Yamada, nice to sort of meet you, Naomi."

"You too. So if you don't mind my asking, why do you have at least a thousand letters stacked up?" she asked, running a red painted fingernail across the top of the first letter and down the edges of the others. "By the looks of it, you don't look like the sort of person who'd be writing a novel in a tiny café here in London. Unless you're the next JK Rowling."

"You never know, I might be." Stella said; a smirk on her face. "But seriously? I just miss my friends and family and reading their letters sort of make me feel better. Like they're sitting right there next to me, like we're still side by side just like nothing changed, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess I know where you're coming from with that."

"You do?" Stella began to click her boots together again, taking another sip of her coffee. Why on earth she was sharing what was on her mind and everything about her practically with a total stranger, she had no idea. But there was something about Naomi that just had a homey feeling, almost like Olivia or Mo had to them-you could tell them anything and you could always guarantee someone to just listen.

"I guess so, but we were talking about you, so enlighten me, who are all these letters from?" Naomi asked, grabbing a few of the letters and tracing over them with her red polished finger, licking her finger as she skimmed through the letters.

"Just my friends, and family, and yeah…" Stella said as Naomi read through the letters.

"Wow, Stella, you have a lot of dedicated friends. I don't think I've ever seen such…heartfelt letter-oh, I'm sorry, you didn't mind me reading them did you?" Naomi said, her pale face twisting with worry. Stella smiled and shook her head.

"There's nothing to really hide in those letters, I really don't mind if you read those letters."

Naomi smiled as one of the waitresses brought her her drink, and she poured a packet of sugar into it, stirring it with one of the stirrers lazily. "So, tell me about these friends of yours," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Well first there's Olivia. She's the one who writes in cursive." Naomi nodded in understanding and listened as Stella continued. "She's probably the shyest person you'll ever meet. And she's a total sweetheart. You really remind me of her, and not just because you both have the almost exact same hair color. And then there's Mo. All her letters are in the green pen. She's a bit more outgoing than Olivia, and she's got a good heart. A bit crazy, but her intentions are good. Then there are the guys, Scott, Wen and Charlie. All of them are probably the most oblivious, clueless, hopeless beings to roam the Earth. They never pick up on anything. But they're good people. Clueless people, but good people."

"Ah. How long have you known them?"

"Since high school. We formed a band in detention and we've been friends ever since." Naomi raised an eyebrow at this as Stella just nodded.

"A band? In detention? You Americans sure do have some weird experiences."

"Yeah, I guess…we like to call it destiny though. Things like that don't always happen in life. Lemonade Mouth was something that just happened spontaneously. Like a blink of an eye almost." Naomi's eyes widened as she leant forward.

"Lemonade Mouth? You were in Lemonade Mouth?" Stella nodded proudly. "So that's why yours and the other's names sounded so familiar!" Naomi had a smile on her face that was continually growing. Stella knew that the girl was getting more excited by the second.

"You guys here in England have heard us?"

"Well of course!" Naomi looked down at her silver watch and her facial expression changed. "Ah, damn, I'd best be heading back to my apartment…say, if you haven't found anywhere to stay yet, you're more than welcome to stay with me."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead."

"That'd be…awesome!" Stella said, standing up with a smile on her face. Naomi laid down her money and then wrapped the scarf that was around her neck tighter and watched as Stella grabbed her duffel bag and purse.

"Alright, let's go then, _Stella_," Naomi said playfully as she opened the door to the café. They walked out into the crisp night, walking down the street to Naomi's apartment. "So tell me," Naomi finally spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "You've been in the army for two years, and these combat boots look like this is the first time you've worn them."

"Just a promise I made to one of the guys back home," Stella said, staring at her feet as they continued walking. "Swore I'd never wear them until the day I went home. I don't know; guess it symbolized me leaving out of there as a hero. I really didn't understand why, I just went along with it."

"This guy you promised, was he your partner at the time?" Naomi asked.

Stella went red at this. "Not exactly, no. He and I, we were, are, really good friends. Best friends. Like brother and sister almost. We never really, um, looked at each other like that. Well he might have, but I didn't."

"So he might've liked you?"

"Eh, who knows, by the time it had crossed my mind, I was on the plane and it was too late to find out." Naomi nodded as they rounded a corner. "What about you, do you have a little guy friend? I, as your temporary roomie, need to know this in case I hear stuff coming from your room." Stella said playfully as she nudged Naomi in the arm. Naomi went red.

"I don't have a boyfriend if that's what you're hinting at." Naomi said quietly. Stella smiled.

"Well then we're on the same singles boat sister. I'm not looking for a guy, and they're most definitely not looking for me."

"Why is that?"

"I'm Stella Yamada for crying out loud! Guys look at me like I'm one of them. They'd never look at me as girlfriend material. I'm just…Stella." Stella shrugged as Naomi stared at her.

"Well just Stella seems to be pretty good. I'm just Naomi, and guys don't seem to care much for _just _Naomi. I'm just there. I'm invisible I guess."

"Girl, have you seen yourself?" Stella said in astonishment as they walked into Naomi's apartment building. The place was very similar to that of a fancy hotel. "You're…you're gorgeous damnit! No guy in his right mind would ignore you."

"Then they all must be out of their right mind," Naomi said. "It's not that big of a deal you know, I'm a big girl. It doesn't mean much to me." She unlocked the door and walked in. Stella walked in behind her and sat her duffel bag down beside the couch. Naomi's apartment was fairly spacious, and it didn't seem too small at all. "So you can share my room with me, or you can sleep on the couch, it folds out into a queen bed and it's quite comfortable."

"You're not a bit weirded out by the fact that a total stranger's sleeping beside you?" Stella asked; grabbing a pair of sweatpants she had brought to change into for the plane ride out of her bag as she followed Naomi into her bedroom.

"Well, I don't consider you a total stranger. You've told me enough about yourself that I think I know you pretty well." Naomi said, taking off her top revealing a black camisole. She grabbed a hair tie off of her dresser and put her blonde hair up into a neat bun.

"Aw, I'm touched!" Stella said cheerfully. Naomi just rolled her eyes playfully. Stella yawned. "Man, I'm exhausted, what with yelling at random airline personnel and sitting at random London cafes', I think it's time for me to crash." Stella jumped into the bed, and looked at Naomi, who was standing at her bathroom door. "So when do I get to find out about you?" she asked. Naomi turned around, leaning against the doorframe, a smirk plastered on her face.

"Tomorrow." Naomi then turned and walked into the other room, closing the door behind her. Stella sighed and snuggled under the blanket, thinking about nothing more than tomorrow and finding more out about Naomi.

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><p><strong>So I'm not really experienced with what happens in the army, so please don't judge. And for those of you who have read the books, the Naomi in this story is NOT the Naomi from the book, or is it based on Naomi Scott. Anyways, this won't be a long story, as said before! I hope you did enjoy…and I want to know who you think the final pairings in this story will be, so leave some guesses in your review. It should be interesting ;) Love, Emzy<strong>


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